Incoherent Babble

There was a major flaw in the Akismet+ 2.x series that prevented SPAM comments from being successfully marked as legitimate (HAM). For some reason, I never seem to be able to properly type the empty() function (it always comes out “emtpy”). In any case, this is now fixed in version 2.4.

Also in the new version is some more code cleanup by branching out retention into its own function. The akismet_get_retention() function now checks the database for a retention setting and checks to make sure it’s valid, or uses the default. This just saves a good bit of repeated code in several other functions that utilize retention.

The best part of 2.4 (aside from the plugin actually working, of course) is the new updates-checking feature I added. If you switch it on in the Akismet Configuration panel, the plugin will automatically check for new versions of itself by hitting my server every 9 or so admin page loads.

If a new version is detected, a red error message will be displayed in the footer of the admin page you’re on letting you know. I may play with the positioning of this, as well as the invalid API key message over the next few versions, and adjust the timing, but this should be a nice feature.

I also plan on adding the ability to automatically update the existing plugin (assuming the directory is writeable by your web server) when a new version is detected. We’ll see how that goes.

The only other change in the 2.4 release was made to the “Activity Box” in your WordPress Dashboard. In addition to the amount of SPAM that has been blocked, it will now show you the amount of spam waiting in the queue and your retention setting. Unfortunately, the API hook needed for this action is only available in WordPress 2.0, so you won’t see anything if you’re still using version 1.5.

As of this release, I’ve also decided that this project has moved beyond the “oh, let’s make a minor change and see if this works” stage. I’ve now officially moved it to the Incoherent Code project, where you can now find the download on the Akismet+ page. More information is forthcoming, but check there from now on for the latest news. I will of course continue to post here whenever I release a new version, just because it’s a noteworthy use of my time.

Best of luck with the plugin, and let me know if you have any problems with this release!